Drunk B.C. RCMP officer who passed out in drive-thru keeps job

[brihard]

We called it Standby Pay. But, I guess it's the same thing. If you don't mind me asking, how much is on call / standby pay?

We received three (3) hours pay at regular straight time hourly rate for each twenty-four (24) hour period within which you were assigned to stand by.

For every four hours on call, one hour of straight time pay. The expectation is you can grab your gear and go. Members working up north where they’re basically on call all the time outside of work hours make a ton of money. But your work is your life.

There’s a lesser rate of 1 in 8 where you basically stay in the area and on reasonably short notice can return to where your stuff is, gear up, and go.

I suspect if dog guys are on call, it’ll be the first, higher rate.

 

[Kat Stevens]

For every four hours on call, one hour of straight time pay. The expectation is you can grab your gear and go. Members working up north where they’re basically on call all the time outside of work hours make a ton of money. But your work is your life.

There’s a lesser rate of 1 in 8 where you basically stay in the area and on reasonably short notice can return to where your stuff is, gear up, and go.

I suspect if dog guys are on call, it’ll be the first, higher rate.

Sounds like my daughter and hubby are in for a fun time. He's posted to Pond Inlet some time this year.

 

[brihard]

Pond’s busy. Your daughter’s going to learn to be a nurse, jail guard, crisis counsellor, and substitute teacher. That’s quite a posting for someone going accompanied.

 

[Kat Stevens]

Pond’s busy. Your daughter’s going to learn to be a nurse, jail guard, crisis counsellor, and substitute teacher. That’s quite a posting for someone going accompanied.

She's a county peace officer, so done her time watching over cells.

 

[lenaitch]

For every four hours on call, one hour of straight time pay. The expectation is you can grab your gear and go. Members working up north where they’re basically on call all the time outside of work hours make a ton of money. But your work is your life.

There’s a lesser rate of 1 in 8 where you basically stay in the area and on reasonably short notice can return to where your stuff is, gear up, and go.

I suspect if dog guys are on call, it’ll be the first, higher rate.

That's actually pretty decent. The OPP has stand-by pay but it has to be approved at a very senior level and in 31 years I honestly don't recall it being invoked - maybe once. Our Handlers get a big honkin' SUV, a paid-for at-home kennel, food and vet bills covered, plus all the o/t they can earn. I'm not aware of any special pay treatment. Even in small remote detachments (admittedly, non arctic) there is no stand-by provision; the clock starts when the phone rings.

Most handlers that I know/knew were big into the outdoors, fitness and, or course, animals. I think many would be Tactical if they weren't Handlers.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

Yup. He's not stupid. Any soldier knows the best COA when you F-up is to throw yourself on a sword as quickly as possible. Guessing even more so for police. Knows the system, probably why he went for the resisting arrest guilty plea as soon as possible (which was dropped anyways IIRC)


That's a bit better of a punishment then I guesstimated. Still pretty damn lucky to keep a $100K+ a year federal job with benefits and pension. Thanks for the numbers.


I wonder how this would play out for a brinks security guard.
Driving around a vehicle drunker that Mr Lahey on a long weekend. Loaded pistol, passing out behind the wheel and assaulting (and injuring) multiple police officers and resisting arrest. Refusing the breathalyzer and damaging police equipment on purpose.

I'll defer to your knowledge on the subject of course but I have a hard time believing a civilian would be treated the same way as this guy.





Why is dog handling so sought after/such a hard to achieve specialty? Figure there's a self-care component attached to it?

Come to think of it one of the last dog cops I worked with was really weird about his dog. We were doing E&E and he was talking about how to beat a dog tracking team then started going off on a tangent about if we ever hurt his dog he would kill all of us and was getting really emotional. I think he even said he would cut peoples heads off. The Pl WO shut the training down pretty quick. Pretty sad in hindsight.

I don't think I would be able to take this guy seriously if he pulled me over. "Where is my ticket Randy Bo Bandy!"

 

[brihard]

That's actually pretty decent. The OPP has stand-by pay but it has to be approved at a very senior level and in 31 years I honestly don't recall it being invoked - maybe once. Our Handlers get a big honkin' SUV, a paid-for at-home kennel, food and vet bills covered, plus all the o/t they can earn. I'm not aware of any special pay treatment. Even in small remote detachments (admittedly, non arctic) there is no stand-by provision; the clock starts when the phone rings.

Most handlers that I know/knew were big into the outdoors, fitness and, or course, animals. I think many would be Tactical if they weren't Handlers.

How do they ensure there will be someone available to take the call in remote detachments? If there’s no on call, are members unrestricted on their time off? I can’t imagine every location has members on shift 24/7?

 

[RedFive]

No, he ate the resist arrest conviction. They stayed the refusal to provide a sample charge. Probably a plea deal, saves the court time and resources. Normal anywhere, basically expected in BC. Not a lot goes to trial. The system’s super overwhelmed. I’ll stand by what I said that a civilian would have similarly seen the impaired refusal dropped on a plea deal, particularly given the immediate roadside prohibition.

Re Police Dog Services- why’s it so sought after? Well, it’s pretty cool, you’re constantly catching bad guys or saving lost people, you go to all of the good calls, get to work high risk arrests and warrant executions, and if you’re not as big on the investigative side of things, it frees you from really doing any of that. You just run your tracks, and train. Plus you get cool gear, a take home vehicle, on call pay, and a Belgian Malinois. But yes, some of the dog guys are weird and I can think of one I really dislike.

The PDS fur missile that turned my right hamstring into hamburger a couple years ago was a German Shepherd, perhaps they mix bloodlines in Innisfail? Far from an expert in the PDS breeding program.

In my area dog handling is sought after for all of those reasons Brihard mentioned. You just bounce around from cool file to cool file, chase bad guys, find lost kids, damn near everybody loves dogs even if they don't like the Police. No dumb calls, very little grief from the public, no investigating at all, a take home unmarked Chevrolet Tahoe, a partner that you will work with for 6-8 years depending then get to keep as a pet, unlimited OT, you name it.

He really screwed himself, because when it says "worked for the PDS program for ten years in addition to his regular duties without pay" they're referring to the program where PDS prospect members spend usually around 10 years raising possible PDS pups. They do it without pay, and the time they spend to train these pups is substantial. If they don't turn out pups that do well when sent back to Innisfail to be paired with the next class of possible handlers, they'll never get the call to get a shot at handling. Completing the handling course is also exceptionally difficult. Lots of members try and fail to achieve one of the coveted spots.

I don't know him personally, but damn near everybody in the Lower Mainland heard about this file. I'm surprised he wasn't fired.

 

[brihard]

The PDS fur missile that turned my right hamstring into hamburger a couple years ago was a German Shepherd, perhaps they mix bloodlines in Innisfail? Far from an expert in the PDS breeding program.

I’m no expert either; I thought they use Malligators?

 

[OldSolduer]

I’m no expert either; I thought they use Malligators?

When I was a kid we had a Mountie dog as a pet. The handler decided he wasn't cut out for the dog handler life so we got him.

Very protective. Big and a real smart dog. He died not longer after I joined the CAF. I miss him.

 

[rmc_wannabe]

When I was a kid we had a Mountie dog as a pet. The handler decided he wasn't cut out for the dog handler life so we got him.

Very protective. Big and a real smart dog. He died not longer after I joined the CAF. I miss him.

I have 2 Shepherds myself. They're docile, dopey things when they are playing with my kids or out for walks.

That said, God help anything that comes into our house or yard uninvited. I have seen the two of them rip a rabbit to shreds and the bigger one brought me most of a Coy wolf's tail, after it made a grave error in scent matching.

 

[OldSolduer]

I have 2 Shepherds myself. They're docile, dopey things when they are playing with my kids or out for walks.

That said, God help anything that comes into our house or yard uninvited. I have seen the two of them rip a rabbit to shreds and the bigger one brought me most of a Coy wolf's tail, after it made a grave error in scent matching.

Speaking of rabbits my grandson’s Cocker Spaniel ripped a rabbit apart. I was called to clean up the remains. Jesse the dog was so proud of herself!!!

 

[lenaitch]

How do they ensure there will be someone available to take the call in remote detachments? If there’s no on call, are members unrestricted on their time off? I can’t imagine every location has members on shift 24/7?

Well, back in the before times (my era), it was something that was just worked out between the members. There were lots of small, non-24 hour detachments, primarily in the north but not exclusively. The going home shift (probably 2 or 3 members) would just share around who was going to take calls until about 0400, and tell the radio room. After that, they would call somebody scheduled for day shift (they had a copy of the roster). If, when you got home you ended up having a drink or two and they called, you simply said you couldn't go and they would call someone else. I worked with a guy who simply never answered the phone - said he was a deep sleeper. Every area had some variation of this. It was imperfect and informal, but it worked and didn't cost the Force a dime. Everybody lived in town and it was just accepted as part of the tour (and not having to work a scheduled midnight shift). Places didn't have 24 hour coverage for a reason and call-outs weren't usually a consistent problem. If there was enough work around the clock, there was enough staff for coverage.

In the 1990s, they started clustering a lot of smaller detachments. Members at the various detachments are grouped under common platoons and places that never had 24-hour coverage now do. I have heard there is only one or two detachments (which could encompass several former detachments) in the province that are not 24-hour. The trouble was, staffing was now spread over more hours and hasn't kept up, and some smaller sites may not always have somebody on duty so the next office covers over - they're all just considered zones. However, in the north, driving time can get significant. If it is really urgent, the commcentre may try to get a hold of somebody local, but it's always a crap shoot. Many younger members feel that, if they want me to be available, they can pay me for it - which they don't. Also, many younger members don't want to live in small towns so 12 hour shifts allows them to come in from a larger centre, do their 2+2 then go home. Some share accommodations - it's like barracks.

Keep in mind that the OPP doesn't have the far-flung, fly-in remote detachments like the RCMP. Every detachment save one (Moosonee) is road accessible. It might be a very long drive, but you can.

 

[lenaitch]

Speaking of rabbits my grandson’s Cocker Spaniel ripped a rabbit apart. I was called to clean up the remains. Jesse the dog was so proud of herself!!!

Where we had our farm, we had a Bichon (daughter's dog) and a Cairn Terrier. One day we were moving a small run-in and a chipmunk came out from under it. The Bichon turned and nailed it then got this look on its face like 'OMG, what have I done'. The Terrier sulked because he figured that was his job.


*****

To the best of my knowledge, the OPP uses both Belgian Malinois and Shepherds (including mixes) for general service dogs and mostly Labs for specialized search and rescue, explosives and cadaver searching. Some handlers have more than one partner. Shepherds can develop orthopedic issues which can cause problems in long bush tracks; something that urban police services obviously don't face. They don't have a breeding programs but use favoured breeders. I understand one is in the Czech Republic.

 

[OldSolduer]

Where we had our farm, we had a Bichon (daughter's dog) and a Cairn Terrier. One day we were moving a small run-in and a chipmunk came out from under it. The Bichon turned and nailed it then got this look on its face like 'OMG, what have I done'. The Terrier sulked because he figured that was his job.

The grandkids now have a Bichon - Poodle cross named Archie who is a bit of a jerk but really cute.